Nature as Great Healer And Comfortor

Fort Pickens Area . Morning. Photo By The Pensacola Hippie

Brian and I took a break and drove over to the beach this morning. { wearing masks and making sure to keep away from other people. The Gulf side rea of Fort Pickens National Seashore is open, so we found a parking spot and soon were looking the the Great Gulf. 

I will never-- as long as I am alive, tire of this view. 

Toes in the sand. Gulf Of Mexico . Photo by The Pensacola Hippie 

If there is one lesson that we humans should learn from this forced isolation due to COVID19, it is to NOT take the ability to be in Nature for granted. The weeks that I was forced to stay away from the Gulf due to restrictions, I felt like I had lost a friend. My priest, in all her wisdom, advised me to look t this time away from all that I love as a " deployment" of sorts. She told me that the Gulf will be there when the restrictions are lifted, and she was { as usual } correct.

Next to not having in person worship with my dear ones, it was the restrictions from the beach that ripped my heart. As Christine Painter writes in her book Earth: Our Original Monastery: 

Nature has a way f offering us solace at times of need... This kind of intimacy with nature means that when our hearts feel heavy or conflicted, we might find ourselves walking a trail in the woods, along a river, or in a nearby park to experience a sense of kinship with Creation. 

I grew up in Northern Appalachia, so I have a special relationship with the flora and fauna of that region. 

However, since I've been living on Florida's Gulf Coast for more that twenty years, the Gulf side beaches have been where I feel closest to Nature and her Creator.  It was the waters of the Gulf that cleansed my soul when I was at my lowest point in my adult life--- the birds , crabs, fish and other critters welcomed me to their home with openness that most people will never understand.

In the summers I swam in that warm salty water and let the rough salt brush way all the negative energy that I carried with me before I was properly diagnosed and prescribed medication that allowed me to return to my full self.

Even when I was not quite sure I wanted to remain a Christian { and there were several times that I seriously questioned my faith}  Nature reminded me that we are all on this Earth together-- and designed to live in harmony. Nature gently reminded me that " religion" is a human construct, but faith is tangible. All I had to do was walk into the Gulf , or scoops some white sand  and let it sift through my fingers to feel close to the Divine. On some days the breeze would mess my hair and I felt the Breath of the Earth -Maker breath in my ears. 

Nature was, and still is, my sanctuary. Living here has taught me to respect her-- she can be unpredictable. I have learned how to " read" the waves so to sty safe from rip currents and to not enter the water during  purple flag day-- dangerous sea life has been spotted near the breaking waves. 

I am a beach-loving trash-picking-up hippie chick. I own that identity and wear it proudly. As I get to know more about St Brigid and her world of pre-Christian Druidry, I am understanding myself and why I always equate The Creator with Nature. 

Peace with y'all...

~Sarah